Societal megatrends such as demographic change, shortages in and migration of skilled workers, digitalisation and academisation are particularly virulent in the nursing sector. What will be the consequences of this for skilled worker training? Alongside current developments in the nursing occupations, this issue devotes its attention to didactic training concepts and to competence recognition concepts that could be conducive to skilled worker mobility in this occupational field.
Demand for nursing and healthcare services is expected to grow in the wake of demographic developments in Germany. Securing a supply of skilled workers in this area is associated with considerable challenges. The BIBB/IAB qualifications and occupational field projections show how supply and demand in these occupations may develop in the long term.
The nursing profession, including nursing training, has been exposed to considerable dynamic shifts since at least the 1990s. Reform processes are becoming ever more concentrated, both in terms of time increments and depth of intervention. Three policy strategies that exert a direct effect on the continuing development of professional nursing training are currently discernible. These are the professionalisation of care, the integration of civil society involvement into nursing and technical support for nursing work. This article outlines these developments and their consequences for skilled worker training in the nursing profession.
This article deals with the impending reform of nursing training, which involves a switch to generalist training and the provision of initial training at higher education level. It debates the possible implications for nursing care on the basis of data from a destination study conducted on behalf of the Baden-Württemberg Stiftung gGmbH [Baden-Württemberg Foundation]. The background is formed by findings relating to the retrospective evaluation and future vocational orientation of graduates in respect of the two new forms of training.
The aim of having combinations of different qualification levels (qualifications mix or grade mix) within a nursing team is to match the qualifications held by nursing staff to existing nursing requirements in the best possible way. At the same time, this facilitates better exploitation of the potential offered by young people with different general school leaving qualifications within the nursing profession. A research project funded by the Norddeutsches Zentrum zur Weiterentwicklung der Pflege (NDZ) [North German Centre for the Further Development of Nursing] is looking at tasks and general institutional conditions relating to the deployment of nursing assistants in the hospital sector.
Healthcare professions and nursing occupations in particular have very little visibility compared to other domains in vocational orientation. There are two major arguments in favour of differentiated vocational orientation in this area. These are a growing shortage of skilled workers and the increasing academisation within the sector. Against this background, the present article outlines the prospects for domain-specific vocational orientation.
Deficits in communication and cooperation between nursing staff and doctors have an influence on work satisfaction and on the quality of patient care. In order to be better prepared for cooperation during training itself, inter-professional learning provision has been developed. The main focus is on whether a joint seminar can assist in fostering inter-professional communication between healthcare and nursing trainees and medical students. The article presents and reflects upon the concept and initial implementation experiences.
The aim of establishing learning islands at the University Hospital of Basel was to redesign company-based training. The plan was to intensify and structure learning at work and provide a systematic link between informal and formal learning. These reform orientations are more current than ever. The essential success factors of the model lie in the fact that it is firmly established within the company and in its continuous further development. This is particularly revealed in terms of company-based education and company organisation. This article looks back at 15 years of experience with the training model, which has now developed into the “Learning island training standard in the nursing sector”.
This article takes current developments as a basis for looking at training needs for company-based training staff in nursing. Its argumentation is underpinned by changes to requirements and associated adaptations in initial, advanced and continuing vocational training. The article concludes with a plea for more systematic training for company-based training staff in nursing which goes beyond the previous training level of practical guidance.
The ERASMUS+ project “HealthCareEurope” (HCEU) investigates the issue of how recognition processes can be supported across borders. At the heart of the European Union-funded project is a competence matrix for healthcare, nursing and geriatric nursing which has been developed on the basis of the Vocational Qualification Transfer System (VQTS) approach. This enables occupationally-relevant competencies to be mapped in a development and learning outcomes-oriented manner across countries. The present article explains the backgrounds to and structure of the matrix, and illustrates opportunities for its use in the recognition procedure.
By world standards, Japan’s population is ageing at an unprecedented level and speed. This development cannot be met due to the shortage of a sufficiently skilled aged care workforce. After giving a short overview of the Aged Care System in Japan, its current situation and challenges the authors therefore emphasize the need for a reform of career paths, curricula and training contents. A proposal for a standardised training programme is presented in the form of the so-called “Mt. Fuji shape”.
The 19th University Conference on Vocational Education and Training will take place from 13 to 15 March 2017. For the second time since 2002, the host is the Institut für Berufs-, Wirtschafts- und Sozialpädagogik der Universität zu Köln [Institute of Vocational, Business and Social Education at the University of Cologne], which has invited specialist representatives from the fields of VET research, policy making and practice to attend the event. In the interview, this year’s organisers provide insights into an attractive programme.
What competencies are necessary in order to be able to act sustainably in commercial occupations? What does a learning venue need to be like if sustainability is to be tangible? Twelve pilot projects will be tackling this issue within the scope of the main funding focus of “Vocational education and training for sustainable development 2015-2019”, which BIBB is executing on behalf of the Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF) [Federal Ministry of Education and Research]. This article presents the background to and aims of the main funding focus and provides an initial overview of the projects that are being supported.
Companies and academic researchers from 30 research institutes and institutes of higher education are working on innovative solutions for the challenges created by the energy transition within the Berlin-Brandenburg cross-federal state energy technology cluster. The Energy Technology Continuing Training System (WBS ET) has developed and continues to develop standardised additional qualifications in order to make sure that specialist and management staff remain or are brought up to speed with regard to structural change in the region. This article presents the background to, the concept behind and the implementation of this system, which is open to development.
Modernised vocational education and training in the occupation of decorative metal worker entered into force in August 2016. The need for re-regulation arose as a result of content and technical developments over recent years, and a further change will take place regarding the examination structure. This article describes the new aspects and gives insights into the training contents of a creative design occupation within the craft trades sector.
The consultations which took place at the December meeting of the BIBB Board focused on the situation on the training market and on topics relating to European VET policy. Dr. DETLEF ECKERT, Director at the General Directorate for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion at the European Commission, took part in the meeting at the invitation of the Board. The Board also adopted a resolution to present proposals on the topic of “dual higher education study” to the Accreditation Council. These relate to a revision of the “rules for the accreditation of programmes of study and for system accreditation”.